Article: #19 Titan Industries: Passion as a Profession

Employee Engagement

#19 Titan Industries: Passion as a Profession

Committed and engaged employees are the secret to the company's continued success
 

There are provisions to provide cross company opportunities for employees to work in other group companiescompanies

 

Titan's goals lie on the principals of being healthy, wealthy, sharing and caring

 

With the economic slowdown snapping at its heels, Titan Industries Ltd did not expect to meet company targets. They were wrong. For the financial year ending 2008-09, not only did Titan Industries exceed its yearly targets, it also saved Rs.7 crore.

The ‘Titan First’ program inspired employees to push themselves and leave no stone unturned to achieve the targets. And as a reward, the company decided to give an ex-gratia of a full month salary to all employees and an increase of 7.5% in April 2009, followed by another two months ex gratia salary and a raise in April 2010. “We proved to the employees that if they put the company first, then we will put the employee first at a time when other companies were slashing salaries and blocking hikes. If the employees are committed to the cause of the company, then the company too is committed to sharing its prosperity with employees,” said Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries. This watch and personal accessories major ranks #19 in the Great Place to Work® Institute’ and #1 in the Industry Category of the Retail Sector. In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Bhat and S. Ramadoss, Chief Human Resources Officer talk about what it means to be a great workplace.

From a business perspective, why do you think it is important for Titan to be a great workplace?
Bhaskar Bhat:
As a company, we believe in creating wealth and value for our stakeholders; that is our reason for existence as a business. Employees not only bring their time but also their skills and knowledge and beyond all that, their commitment and passion. A committed and engaged employee contributes significantly more towards the overall goal of wealth creation than an employee who just brings his/her time, knowledge and skills. It makes not only business sense but also human sense, as a great workplace creates an environment where employees can perform best. Titan’s goals lie on the principals of being healthy, wealthy, sharing and caring. These four elements define us as an organization. We want to be ‘healthy’ by focusing on building a strong profit margin; we want to be ‘wealthy’ by wanting to grow big; we strive to ‘share’ with our stakeholders the wealth and health that we acquire; and finally we ‘care’ for the employees as an individuals beyond just being a part of the group.

Can you describe the work environment in your organization?
S. Ramadoss:
The work environment at Titan can be described as one which is young, energetic, enthusiastic and highly informal. This is backed by great love and pride our employees have for the organization. The openness, trust and respect for individuals is reinforced with fierce loyalty displayed by employees. There is passion and commitment, high flexibility and willingness of our people to experiment. They believe in taking risks and do new things. The work culture is highly empowered and non-hierarchical. There is a sense of joy and happiness our people feel in the fun they have at the work place.

What is the role that the HR should play?
Bhaskar Bhat:
HR plays an enabling role to create this environment, where the HR team work to create the operation base to ensure that the hygiene factors are taken care off when it comes to employees in the different touch points during their professional life cycle.

What do you think is the leverage that Titan has as employer of choice as part of the Tata Group?
Bhaskar Bhat:
As part of the Tata Group, we have the benefits of having access to best practices in HR. We also have provisions to provide cross company opportunities for our employees to work in other Tata Group companies. Finally, there is a strong feeling of pride to work in one of the most respected and successful groups in the country.
 

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Topics: Employee Engagement, Culture, #BestPractices

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